- Kyle Chua
US Wants Info on How Huawei Produced Mate 60 Pro’s 7nm 5G Chipset Amid Sanctions
Updated: Dec 18, 2023
Huawei has once again attracted the attention of the U.S. government.
The Chinese tech giant has Washington curious on how it's managed to produce the advanced chip housed on the Huawei Mate 60 Pro.
The chip in question is the Kirin 9000, which is built by Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) on a 7nm node and features 5G network connectivity – two key technologies that shouldn't have been possible with sanctions in place that prevents Chinese manufacturers from accessing American-built chip components without a special license.
Both Huawei and SMIC have been blacklisted by the U.S. as part of the ongoing economic and technology trade war between the two superpowers.
U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday that Washington wants information on the precise composition of the Mate 60 Pro's chip, which Bloomberg News discovered was just a few generations behind the most advanced chips that are coming to market, such as the 3nm A17 Bionic chipset debuting on the iPhone 15.
"What it tells us, regardless, is that the United States should continue on its course of a 'small yard, high fence' set of technology restrictions focused narrowly on national security concerns, not on the broader question of commercial decoupling," said Sullivan.
To produce 7nm chips, a foundry would need an extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) machine. Right now, only ASML, a Dutch chipmaker, makes this machine and it has supported U.S. demands not to ship any orders to China. That suggests China produced the chip without reliance on foreign suppliers, underscoring the country's progress in developing homegrown technology.
Analysts believe that Huawei's breakthrough with its latest smartphone could potentially threaten Apple's iPhone sales in China. The breakthrough also comes ahead of the launch of the latest generation of iPhone, the iPhone 15, on 12 September.
Despite not having an official launch event, many Chinese citizens were quick to celebrate Huawei's breakthrough on social media, praising the Mate 60 Pro's wireless capabilities.
"Huawei is testing the U.S. red line now," said Lin Tsung-nan, an electrical engineering professor at National Taiwan University told Bloomberg. "If the U.S. doesn’t take any action, Huawei will think there’s nothing to be afraid of and its other suppliers will start to emulate what SMIC does and US sanctions will crumble."
The Huawei Mate 60 is also the first mass market smartphone to feature a satellite calling function.
Huawei has the U.S. government curious on how it's managed to produce the advanced chip housed on the Huawei Mate 60 Pro.
The chip in question was built on a 7nm node and features 5G capabilities –two key technologies that shouldn't have been possible with sanctions in place that prevents Chinese manufacturers from accessing American-built chip components without a special license.
U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday that Washington wants information on the precise composition of the Mate 60 Pro's chip.